Very annoying main character that is way too self involved ( )

Finally, a book about self-reflection that really speaks to me and makes me laugh. Though not quite going through a mid-life crisis, Melanie Gideon does feel a mid-life slump and starts to assess her life. Older books about a 40-something in a mid-life crisis depict gray-haired women who feel empty after their kids go to college. What?! We're 40, we're still young and some of us still have young kids. Those older books often had the character questioning life because of a broken marriage. Gideon gets that everyday living can be just fine, but still lead one to ask, "Is it enough? Is this where I'm supposed to be?" Those old books about mid-life don't reflect today's reality. This one does. In some spots it made me laugh out loud in the staff lunchroom! But it also has a quiet truth to it, elements that made me feel I'm not alone. It may not be for everyone, but it's the book I've been seeking for a while. ( )

There are times when one reads a memoir written by someone who is entirely other, and one is able to inhabit that person, understand their motivations, and walk away with a certain understanding. This was not one of those times for me. I didn't get Gideon, I was impatient with her foibles, I was annoyed with her attitudes, and I ended up being glad that my only encounter with her was through the pages of this book.

I'm not saying I think she's a bad person, or even a bad writer. I think she's a good writer- she was able to give me a crystal-clear picture of her inexplicably discontented life- the failure to understand or to be sympathetic was entirely mine. ( )

I felt like Ms. Gideon read my mind and wrote a book. I related to her on every level. Her struggles with curly hair, waiting in the carpool lane, and best of all the mattress drama and the snoring husband. ( )

The book jacket reads that the author is "in a quest to reignite passion and mystery in her life", but I found no quest here. This book is more like a collection of thoughts, disjointed and random. But it is about motherhood and couplehood and trying to find purpose in the dull routine of everyday life.
I almost gave up reading this halfway through, but I'm glad I persevered because once I dropped my expectations and stopped looking for "the quest", the book became funny and entertaining. The second half was enjoyable. A light and fun read, though I would've liked to get to know her husband and son better. Their parts in the book were very vague to me.